2017 Kia Sorento: misfire or rough idle

Filed Dec 11, 2025 · Engine, Steering · MI

I was driving our 2017 Kia Sorento 2.4 liter, on I-94 in Detroit, MI when suddenly, the vehicle would not go over 50 mph when the engine suddenly lost power on Friday 11/28/2025 ..We towed the vehicle to the Auto Repair Shop a few days later. On Tuesday 12/9/2025 the Auto Repair shop contacted us and said that their was plenty of oil in the vehicle but Cylinder 3 misfired and there is a loss of engine compression. Auto shop says cylinder 3 failed and now only 3 cylinders are now working on the 2017 Kia Sorento now mileage is now 94, 971 miles. I have not taken it to the dealer yet because even though there was a class action lawsuit, the Auto Repair shop has informed us, as well as other information online, that the dealer will sometimes try to avoid replacing the engine. I did contact the dealer on 12/10/2025 and informed that we do have maintenance records and have the vehicle towed there this weekend, however, my initial conversation with the Service rep did not sound promising to date.

Filed Aug 28, 2025 · Engine · CA

On 8/16/2025 my 2017 Kia Sorento experienced major engine failure which resulted in loss of power and severe engine misfiring. I submitted a warranty claim with full maintenance documentation to Kia cooperation but was denied coverage on 8/27/2025. This denial is improper because 1.The engine type is covered under recalls and/or the Kia Engine Class Action Settlement, which extends coverage to 15 years / 150,000 miles and my vehicle currently has 94423. 2.I complied with all maintenance requirements and have already provided numerous records. 3.Engine failure presents a serious safety hazard and has been widely reported.

Filed Jun 13, 2025 · Engine · TN

Engine failure. Hyundai and Kia Theta Engine Class Action Settlement 2017 Kia sorento 2.0 vin [XXX] . vehicle has the Knock Sensor Detection System (KSDS) Update which extends engine coverage to 10 years/150k miles for rod bearing failure. the vehicle has 118k miles and is at a kia dealership. They denied coverage due to no present codes related to the knock sensor and being that it has low compression on one cylinder. My 2017 Kia Sorento experienced a serious engine failure related to rod bearing wear, a known issue in the Theta II 2.4L GDI engine. The engine began making a loud knocking noise, which is a classic sign of rod bearing failure. They just so happened to left that out of their diagnosis that it has rod bearing noise and are using only the fact that low compression and no code related to the bearings to deny the coverage. When rod bearings wear out, they allow excessive play in the connecting rods, leading to unstable piston movement. In interference engines like this one, that instability can cause the piston to travel too far upward and strike open valves during operation. This can result in bent valves, valve seat damage, low cylinder compression, and repeated misfires. In my case, the engine was diagnosed with low compression and misfires consistent with this kind of internal damage. This isn’t just a wear-and-tear issue. it’s a known design flaw that leads to catastrophic engine failure and a serious safety risk. Kia denied coverage, despite this exact failure being covered under a class action settlement and extended warranty program, and despite my vehicle showing textbook symptoms of the defect. I am requesting a full investigation into Kia's handling of these claims and the lack of proper recall enforcement. My name is [XXX] with 1A auto mart inc. I am handling this case for my customer who is the registered owner of the vehicle [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jan 11, 2025 · Engine · NC

Vehicle up to date on oil changes. Driving down interstate and vehicle just stopped without warning. Message to contact a dealer popped up. When diagnostic put on vehicle shows camshaft and crankshaft bad. No oil on dipstick AT ALL. Oil light never came on showing low. Never seen oil in garage so no leaks. Sensors showing misfire were changed along with spark plugs and coil packs. Codes never cleared. Car is not drivable but has been well maintained and up to date on everything. After researching I have seen multiple pages and pages of the same exact complaint on same exact vehicle. There is a recall for certain 2017 kia Sorento 3.3L V6 engines but shows mine is not affected although my vehicle is the exact same as the recall and having exact same issue as the recall. I would like this looked into and a explanation for the engine issue with help on fixing it through Kia. This is a good vehicle never gave ANY issues at all, nor gave any warnings on the issue that caused it to stop running.

Filed Sep 14, 2024 · Engine · PA

Vehicle over heated on vacation trip. Had mechanic check out vehicle to get it moving again. They removed the thermostat in hopes of a stuck thermostat. Once we arrived at our vacation house I set up appointment with KIA dealership to have them make repairs. I informed them that the thermostat was removed. They came back with it having a blown head gasket and it needed engine replaced. It took them 3 weeks to replace engine by that time we had to rent a vehicle and go back home. I had to pay over 1000 out of pocket for the temp repair, rental, and to have the vehicle shipped back to my home. Finally got the vehicle back and the check engine light was on and it was running rough. It would not reach operating temp. I knew that they must have not put a thermostat on with the new engine. Took it to my local dealership with the issue. They charged me 295 to tell me that it was a issue with the thermostat. They wanted 360 to put a thermostat in it. I declined. I put the new thermostat in and that took care of the check engine light and coolant temp problem but it is still leaking coolant and runs rough. I spoke with KIA and they are unwilling to help. They said the replaced the engine but the thermostat is not covered. That is like saying we replaced the engine but the coolant that leaked out is not covered so we won't replace that.

Filed Jul 23, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · 68,000 miles · VA

The contact owns a 2017 Kia Sorento. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, an audible message indicated that there was engine failure, and the infotainment screen displayed the option to send an engine failure report. The vehicle then shuddered and made an abnormal sound. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, but the abnormal sound persisted. The vehicle was shaking, and the contact detected an abnormal odor inside the vehicle. The contact parked and turned off the vehicle. Additionally, the headlights failed to illuminate while driving at night. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with multiple cylinders misfire. The dealer determined that the spark plugs and headlights needed to be replaced, as well as an induction cleaning and oil change. The dealer replaced the spark plugs and headlights but discovered that the fuel pump was leaking fuel into the engine. The contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The contact declined to have the induction cleaning, the oil changed, or the fuel pump replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 18V907000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and Technical Service Bulletin: 073 (Ball Joint Replacement); however, the VIN was not included in the recall and the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

Filed Jun 7, 2024 · Engine · FL

No oil with no idication and no warning light. Extremely rough idling stalling possible complete engine failure.

Filed May 31, 2024 · Engine · NJ

Engine Knocking, all spark plugs cracked, burning excessive oil. Very dangerous for myself, passengers, and all on the road. In Feb 2023 was on NY interstate when vehicle shacked violently and I started losing control. Luckly, I was able to bring the vehicle safely to the side of the road and wait for it to be towed to Kia dealership. This problem was confirmed and reproduced by the Kia Kingston NY dealership. They just said it was the spark plugs and everything was ok. It was inspected by dealership. They said no major engine issues, but the car keeps getting worse. Now it's having an engine failure code of values misfiring. It's nowhere to be safe to drive now. No warning lights when engine knocking happend and lost control of vehicle in Feb 2023. Oil light turned on due to excessive burn just a few days after an oil change. Check engine light turned on for values misfiring.

Filed Mar 12, 2024 · Engine · TN

I lost power from the engine while going up a mountain in Georgia. Thought we were going to run off a cliff due to engine failure. We were at about a 45 degree incline going up a mountain. Car stopped due to loss of compression. Family of 3 were 6 feet from edge of cliff when this happened. If breaks failed we would have crashed for sure down the cliff. Total loss of power. It was misfiring per Service department at Halls Service Center in Knoxville , Tn said, Compression in 2 and 3 cylinders were at 60 and 90 PSI. 1 and 4 compression were at 115 and 150. Car is drinking oil like water. Regular maintenance was always completed. Car is available for inspection if needed. I did get a check engine lite on my dash but only after the incident. Other than what the auto service department mentioned above no one else has inspected the vehicle.

Filed Feb 21, 2024 · Engine · MO

[XXX], traveling for the holidays, my 2017 Kia Sorento broke down. All dash lights came on, black smoke out exhaust. Only issue I had prior to this breakdown was excess oil use. $150 tow to Bengston Tire & Service in Salina, KS. They diagnosed cylinder misfires, spark-plug disintegration & recommended to take it to a Kia Dealership to be looked at, as they said it likely required an entire engine replacement. After a $440 tow, it was looked at by the Kia Dealership of Manhattan, KS, who ultimately did state that my vehicle would require a $7k engine replacement. The said I did not qualify for the 10 year/100k warranty since I was a 2nd owner. Since I still owed on my loan, I decided it was not worth putting the time/funds to fix. I had it towed home for $800. After searching online for hours with my VIN to search recalls, my Sorento did not show up in any recalls, class action suites, etc. During all of this I had to rent a car, which in total from [XXX], when I purchased a new vehicle, I spent $1,530 in total rental fees. It wasn't until I was researching that I found out about the KSDS sensor that many other Kia owners were having installed to assist in the prevention of a situation that my Kia had put me in 12/2023. Kia had never sent me any information on this and the Kia dealership never told me about this, nor offered to help in ANY way with another vehicle that likely should be added to the engine failure recall, as all my symptoms fit the bill. Oakes Kia of Kansas City, MO also told me previously that the excess engine oil consumption was normal, and just part of having a GDI Engine. I sold my Kia for $5k to a buyer who could fix it up. The KBB value of my Sorento was $14,000, as besides the engine failure the rest of the vehicle was in amazing condition with no other issues. I have lost a significant amount of money with this loss that I believe could've been easily prevented or at least better prevented by the manufacturer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA),

Filed Feb 18, 2024 · Engine · PA

We purchased 2017 sorento 2.4 with 71k miles. It burned oil very bad from the day we bought it (3 quarts in 2k miles) We tried to contact the warranty company and the dealer, they pointed the finger at kia. Finally the engine blew up at 80k miles. I was told about the class action lawsuit on rod bearings for that vehicle. Unfortunately, rod bearings aren't the only issue with that engine. It burns tons of oil (possibly through pcv valve or faulty rings). All this burmt oil turns into carbon, and ends up destroying the head/ valve train, fouling spark plugs, and clogging the rings. I am a member of a group that has tons of people with the same issue. Kia refuses to cover it, because the lawsuit only said they had to cover rod bearing failure. My vehicle lost compression on a major highway. Before that, my wife was driving with the kids, and it started misfiring due to the carbon build up fouling another set of spark plugs. These vehicles are going to get people killed, and kia/hyundai are doing nothing about it. All of the vehicles with the theta 2 engine are having this problem.

Filed Feb 13, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · ME

The vehicle just lost power at 75mph on [XXX] heading home to Princeton, ME, started vibrating really bad misfiring then we pulled over the Kia Sorento stalled. Then would not start back up. It’s been using over a quart a week since we got it from the dealership in Bangor, Maine. We got it towed home our mechanic looked at it and noticed oil on the plugs and said we probably need a new engine. Low beam light keep coming off and on so thinking it’s something electrical. Time to time the transmission take a min to shift the engine rpms stay up n takes a few extra seconds to shift. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)